Direct Line #5: Local candidates speak

Again this year, the Daily News has offered local candidates for state office the opportunity to communicate directly with voters. All candidates in contested, local races for the Massachusetts Legislature have been invited to submit 150-word essays, which will appear each Sunday in the Opinion section up to the Nov....

Milford Daily News

Writer

Posted Sep. 28, 2008 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 28, 2008 at 3:02 PM

Posted Sep. 28, 2008 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 28, 2008 at 3:02 PM

» Social News

Again this year, the Daily News has offered local candidates for state office the opportunity to communicate directly with voters. All candidates in contested, local races for the Massachusetts Legislature have been invited to submit 150-word essays, which will appear each Sunday in the Opinion section up to the Nov. 4 election. Candidates in uncontested races may also submit statements, which will appear as space allows.

For the past three years I have had the honor and privilege of serving the residents of Marlborough. As a second term city councilor, I am proud of my role in controlling spending and working toward an efficient city government. I have worked diligently to provide strong services for our constituents while at the same time being a responsible steward of the constituents' resources.

While many people have given up on the idea of making government fiscally responsible, my fellow councilors and I have demonstrated that, on the local level, this can be achieved. I'm running for the state Senate to bring fiscal responsibility and accountability back to state government. My record in Marlborough is proof of my commitment to those principles.

In electing someone with an actual record of keeping spending and taxes low, we can send these messages to Beacon Hill: Rein in spending, and don't raise taxes.

www.StevenLevy.org

Jamie Eldridge, Democrat

Protecting our environment has been a legacy of the Middlesex & Worcester district under the leadership of Pam Resor and Bob Durand, both of whom have endorsed my campaign for state Senate.

My years of service with organizations like the Organization for the Assabet River, the Nashua River Watershed Association, and the Acton Conservation Trust, as well as my three terms as state representative, enables me to continue this legacy of protecting our environment.

This year, we passed the Green Communities Act, investing in alternative energy, promoting energy conservation, and providing incentives for communities to become green. We passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, requiring Massachusetts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2050.

I am very pleased to have earned the endorsements of environmental protection organizations like the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, the Sierra Club, and Clean Water Acton.

State Senate Norfolk, Bristol & Middlesex

Includes Natick, Wayland, Sherborn, Wellesley, Millis and Franklin

Sara Orozco, Democrat

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in Massachusetts. Massachusetts taxpayers spend approximately $3.54 billion each year in health care costs for illnesses directly caused by smoking.

This spring, constituents of the district called my opponent to urge his support for the proposed $1 tobacco tax, informing him the tax hike would prevent kids from starting to smoke and help smokers quit. Despite those facts, he told them he would vote against the proposal.

Page 2 of 5 - Fortunately, his colleagues in the Legislature prevailed.

The recent tax increase was coupled with a massive campaign to help smokers quit with the Smoker's Quitline and free nicotine patches. Demand has been unprecedented and nearly 10,000 smokers have tried to quit. This is great news!

As state senator, I will fight for political solutions to this public health problem that causes 9,000 premature and painful deaths in Massachusetts each year.

www.SaraOrozco.com

Scott Brown, Republican

One of the most divisive issues across Massachusetts continues to surround the 40B Law. This unfair mandate on towns to meet a nearly impossible threshold of 10 percent low income housing has given developers almost free reign to decimate neighborhoods. As is, towns that do not meet the mandate are not allowed to impose usually strict zoning laws and citizens are stripped of much of their voice in development projects.

In the legislature, I have worked to find ways for towns to meet this mandate. I have filed legislation to allow manufactured housing, or mobile homes, to be counted towards the mandate. I have also filed a bill to allow for group homes for the mentally challenged and under state assisted programs to also be counted.

As your state senator, I promise to continue to pressure my colleagues in the legislature to adopt creative new ways to help our towns address this unfair burden.

House of Representatives, 3rd Middlesex

Includes Hudson, Stow, Maynard and Bolton

Kate Hogan, Democrat

After decades of neglect and mismanagement, our roads, highways and bridges are in a serious state of disrepair. The Patrick administration has just signed a $3 billion bond bill to provide funds to accelerate the pace at which we can repair or replace structurally defective bridges. We've essentially taken a small, necessary step - albeit an expensive one - to get a bit ahead of the problem.

Going forward, we're going to need more revenue, probably more bonding authority, hopefully increased federal funding and a tough, realistic capital budgeting process. We dug this hole by mismanaging the resources we had and looking the other way when additional resources were necessary. We dug this hole by tolerating too many Republican officials whose criteria for success never made it beyond tax rates.

Please visit my Website, www.katehogan.com, to learn more about me and please consider casting your vote for Kate Hogan on November 4.

Sonny Parente, Republican

Rising prices, job losses and foreclosures have long pointed to trouble in our state's economy. More recently, news of corporate failures nationwide has dominated headlines. Although Wall Street might seem far away, it is only a matter of time before these problems affect us locally unless our state makes fixing our economy a priority.

Page 3 of 5 - Massachusetts has fallen into a trap of using businesses and taxpayers as a revenue source to pay for government spending. In the past year, the Legislature raised business taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. We should reverse course and do everything we can to boost business confidence and put money back into peoples' pockets so they can afford to buy necessities and keep our economy running.

This requires restrained government spending, responsible tax policy, quality education and job training opportunities, and policies like expedited permitting to grow jobs through business investment.

House of Representatives, 4th Middlesex

Includes Marlborough, Southborough and Berlin

Danielle Gregoire, Democrat

As a graduate of the Marlborough Public Schools I pledge to continue working to send more education funding back to all of our district's public schools. It is the responsibility of our government to educate all students, and that those students should have the best possible education for our tax dollar.

My Republican opponent has consistently voted to cut education funding for our public schools. I have worked with leaders in our state to ensure that every possible education dollar is sent to our cities and towns so we can provide the most up to date resources, information, and technology.

Charter schools continue to provide our students with valuable education, but should not be doing so to the detriment of and without any input from host communities. We must fund our charter schools in a separate line item to achieve equity for charter and sending districts.

www.daniellegregoire.com

Arthur Vigeant, Republican

I have a record of proven results. My opponent feels that employment at the State House has prepared her for the tough work that lies ahead for the 4th Middlesex District. There is no substitution for the real experience that comes with voting on issues that impact your constituency.

I have made tough decisions that impact the lives of people I meet every day. It's a lot easier to say yes to spending, but my experience has proven that the times I stood up against spending has been in the best interest of the residential taxpayer.

We're all facing increased costs for gasoline, food and heating fuel, and tough decisions lie ahead for our district. I won't be afraid to make the tough decisions at the State House that will secure financial stability for the taxpayers of Marlborough, Berlin and Southborough.

We all want to be confident that our roads and bridges are safe and well maintained. Yet a non-partisan commission established by former Governor Romney concluded that some of our infrastructure is in "severe neglect," and needs $15 billion to $19 billion in repairs (eot.state.ma.us/downloads/tfc).

Page 4 of 5 - Our legislature needs to act on this priority issue and carefully consider the 28 recommendations of the commission. One recommendation is to fund repairs with a limited fuels tax - "gas tax" - increase. Our current fuels tax of 23.5 cents/gallon has lost value to inflation since the last increase in 1991.

Is increasing the fuels tax the answer in this difficult economy? I'm not sure. I do know that we can't ignore the problem. As your representative, I will be willing to have open and public discussion about all possible options. With limited funding sources, we need to carefully consider any proposal that will keep our roadways safe.

Dan Haley, Republican

Beacon Hill officials are blaming the crisis on Wall Street for a billion dollar deficit in the state budget. This is disingenuous.

In January, long before the current national turmoil, Governor Patrick's budget director warned of a "structural deficit well north of $1 billion" if the Legislature did not curtail spending. It is no surprise that following a budget process during which the Legislature added hundreds of millions in new spending and failed to make any cuts, we are in fact dealing with the predicted deficit.

Now our elected officials are using Wall Street's troubles to cover up the consequences of their own irresponsibility. Worse, they are using the national crisis as an excuse to push for a gas tax hike, toll increases, and local aid cuts.

They must be called on this charade and forced to clean up the mess they created without once again reaching into taxpayer wallets.

www.danhaley2008.com

House of Representatives 13th Middlesex

Includes Wayland, Sudbury and Lincoln

Susan Pope, Republican

For the second time in five years, Massachusetts' governor is seeking expanded powers to trim state spending in the face of economic trouble. I was a member of the House the first time, and I can attest that conditions now are different than they were then.

This latest request to cut expenses is the result of excess spending by state government despite warnings that revenues were likely to decline. The Legislature went on a spending spree when they approved a $28.2 billion state budget that grew programs and did little to curb spending through reform.

Now that forecasts of trouble have come true, lawmakers are looking for places to cut and they have not ruled out local aid as a possible target.

We need more responsibility on Beacon Hill. Cities and towns should not have to pay the price for reckless spending.

Tom Conroy, Democrat

As the state representative for Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland, I am ardently against the ballot initiative to repeal the state income tax. Taxes are "the price we pay for civilization," to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Page 5 of 5 - Repealing state income taxes would imperil the following:

-- $6 billion in state aid to our towns' schools, effectively degrading education for two million children throughout the state.

-- $1 billion in state public safety spending, to prevent and reduce crime.

-- $700 million for the state judicial system, to ensure justice is served.